CINCINNATI -Xavier volleyball will begin its 40th season on Friday against South Carolina State in the Big Orange Bash hosted by Clemson University in Clemson, S.C. The match is slated for a 4:30 p.m. start time.

The Musketeers will follow with a pair of matches on Saturday against Coastal Carolina at 10 a.m. and host Clemson at 6 p.m. Xavier is 3-0 all-time against the field in the Big Orange Bash, including one win over South Carolina State and two wins over Coastal Carolina. XU and Clemson have never met.

Saturday's match against Clemson will be broadcast live in HD courtesy of TigerCast at ClemsonTigers.com. Live stats of all matches will also be available. Links to the stats and the live stream of the XU/Clemson match have been posted to the volleyball schedule on GoXavier.com.

Xavier is led by 2011 First Team Atlantic 10 All-Conference performers Sarah Brown and Alex Smith, three-time A-10 Libero of the Year Stephanie Vorherr and 2011 A-10 Rookie of the Year Aubree Smith. Brown and Alex Smith combined for 584 kills last season. Vorherr, a senior, has 1,594 career digs and stands just 132 shy of the school record. After only one season on Xavier's campus, Aubree Smith already ranks ninth in program history with 1,210 assists.

Seniors Kaleigh Rougraff and Amé White are back for their final season at Xavier. Rougraff was second on the team with 313 digs and White notched 120 kills in 2011. Kelsey Dunaway, who was third on the team with 239 kills, returns for her junior campaign.

Mike Johnson enters his third season as head coach of the Musketeers after winning over 20 matches in both of his first two seasons. Kirsta Cobb was added to Johnson's staff in the offseason, joining former Xavier standout and second-year assistant Claire Paszkiewicz on the sideline.